No shame in getting skills certificate – Masidi
KOTA KINABALU: There is no shame in getting a skillbased certificate as it can turn youths into future job providers, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun.
Masidi, who is Sabah Education Exco, emphasized that the people have to change with the state development as it has reached a point where skills can reduce unemployment and break people out of the poverty cocoon.
Whilst not discounting the worth of degrees, he said the days of acquiring them in order to get today’s rarely available civil servant positions are gone as there are more jobs available in the private sector.
“It is not impossible for us to make ourselves the worker and also employer at the same time,” he said when officiating the second SLDN (National Dual Training System) Sabah and Labuan Federal Territory Convocation 2017 at Likas Sports Complex here yesterday.
“I regard the effort to establish SLDN highly as it creates more opportunities for our people to fill out jobs out there,” he lauded.
Masidi reiterated that youths need to wipe the shame off and empower themselves with valuable skills so they can be independent.
“Do not be ashamed of being in poverty. We just need to be ashamed if we do not do something to take ourselves out of the cocoon of poverty.
“A good future comes from our own efforts and initiative to ensure we are valuable in the market,” he stressed.
Some 458 apprentices, trained at 28 locations throughout Sabah took their SLDN yesterday.
The courses such as mobile phone repair, hair styling, office management, laundry service management and airconditioning service are based on the current market demand and industry standard.
This had resulted in participants being easily employed in Malaysia and even Singapore and Brunei.